Congolese state captured by the Nguessos

In my understanding, although I could not find anybody to support or back it up, BMCE’s entry into the share of LCB Bank was just a ruse orchestrated by the President Sassou Nguesso to expatriate money from Congo to Morocco without raising any further eyebrows from the international community or from Congolese civil society organisations and political parties of the opposition. Denis Sassou Nguesso is therefore into the oil, publishing, banking and agro industrial sectors while his elder brother, Maurice Nguesso is the owner of the of the largest  and most diversified media group in the country: MNCOM. This company that is managed at the image of the country and it had the first digital network in the country via its pay per view TV: Mosaiq TV, Free to air TV: MNTV. He also owns radio stations in Brazzaville and Oyo, known as MN Radio and Maurice Nguesso owns the most modern printing press known as Impremerie Ayessa. He (Maurice Nguesso) also has shares in banks and aviation companies. As Maurice Nguesso’s profile had already shown, he is also into the logistics, micro finance, oil and agricultural sectors.

Claudia Sassou Nguesso

As for Claudia Sassou Nguesso, she is the Communications adviser to her father, and also owns a TV station called Top TV. Besides being into politics because she is also a Member of Parliament for Talangai electoral constituency, representing the ruling PCT Party, she is also into the oil sector through a company called Kontinent. The majority shareholder of Kontinent is Yaya Moussa, the former IMF country manager for Congo Brazzaville. Yaya Moussa, who is Cameroonian, is reported along with French man, Mathieu Pigasse and many others, whose names are not known, are claimed to have helped the Congolese government to doctor the country’s statistics in order for her to qualify for the IMF and World Bank Poor and Highly indebted Countries scheme. This information, I got from people working at the Presidency of the Republic in Brazzaville.  But according to some experts that, I spoke to, they are unanimous in declaring that, logically, the Republic of Congo won’t have qualified for the HIPC Programme if their statistics were not doctored as aforementioned. Hence the government requested the assistance of brilliant economists and with the complicity of a member of the IMF to lie for example on the population figure of the country.

Yaya Moussa

Earlier, we wrote that, Yaya Moussa and many others contributed in helping Congo to doctor its statistics. To compensate Yaya Moussa for having helped Congo scale through the hurdles put in place by the IMF and World Bank, the government gave licenses to his company aptly called, Kontinent, to operate in the Telecommunications and Oil sectors. And on the board of Kontinent Oil, which is a minor actor in the oil sector, Claudia Sassou is a board member. But she is not alone. According to people in the know, the other members of the family who are on the board of Kontinent are Antoinette Sassou Nguesso and Jean Bruno Richard Itoua (see profile).  While Kontinent Oil is still a minor actor in the Oil sector in Congo, she is certainly going to grow as they Nguessos are members of the board and also control who does what or who is offered what in the sector. One other thing which has to be made abundantly clear about Congo is that, all statistics and other data from the country are wrong. But to the discharge of Brazzaville, they are not the only country in Africa that lied for example on its population figures in order to make sure that, they not only qualify for the HIPC programme but had their debts cancelled by the Paris and London Clubs of lenders.

Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso

Another major beneficiary in the system is Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso. He is the heir apparent to his father. Barring some seismic changes, he will be the 7^th president of Congo. He is being groomed for the top job. His father is doing everything for Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso’s smooth accession to power.  It is no surprise that, in 2012 he was elected as the lone and unchallenged MP for Oyo and he has been propelled into the Politburo of the ruling party.  For security proof, the President is arresting and jailing anybody viewed as a potential rival to his son. It explained why people like Andre Okombi Salissa are today in jail. So the ground work is being set for Denis Christel Sassou Nguesso to be propelled at the head of Congo between 2021 and 2023. Along with his elder sister Claudia, affectionately known as Koko, they are the most loved out of wedlock children of Denis Sassou Nguesso for reasons already explained. Denis Christel, who is variably known as Kiki or Prince Aladdin, is an oil trader by profession and one of the deputy managers of the state owned Societe Nationale des Petrole du Congo: SNPC. Denis Christel is the octopus of the family. He has stakes in all major state companies and he has created his own even though headed by close associates.  He is also into philanthropy and has created an NGO called Foundation Perspective Avenir, under whose banner he is carryout benevolence services in order to launder his image and also that of his family. 

Hubert Pandino aka the White Mbouchi: the majority shareholder LCB Bank Congo

My investigations have revealed that, President Sassou Nguesso is the majority shareholder of LCB Bank a local bank. Here again and in respect of what I mentioned earlier that, he operates as a mafia boss, hence his name doesn’t appear in the books of LCB Bank because he is represented by Hubert Pandino, his straw man. Mr Pandino is officially the majority shareholder of LCB Bank through SOCOFRAN, a controversial road construction company. To show how close Hubert Pandino is with the President, there are neighbors at Oyo, the president’s village.  And a second prove of their proximity is that, around the end of February and early March 2009, while I was visiting Oyo, I came across Mr Hubert Pandino. When he saw me in the company Maria Maylin and her husband, Professor Claude Maylin, he was visibly happy and told me two things that I can’t forget. He said: “I am an ethnic or “White Mbouchi” and also that, he eats tortoise”. The tortoise is a delicacy appreciated by most Mbouchis and in chief, President Denis Sassou Nguesso. Through my investigations, I equally discovered how the ownership structure within the board of LCB Bank was shared: In real terms Pandino owns 64% of the shares of LCB bank. Other shareholders are General Raymond Ibata and a Moroccan bank: Banque Marocaine de Commerce Exterieur (BMCE).

Dubious deal between BMCE Morocco and LCB Bank Congo

This is how the phony deal between LCB Bank and BMCE operates.  According what a former bank staff of LCB Bank told me: The Moroccan bank entered into the board of the Congolese bank by buying four shares worth FCFA 4 billion.  After entering into board of LCB Bank, BMCE signed a parallel contract with Congolese authorities to offer their expertise in management to LCB Bank. The cost of the technical assistance or expertise from BMCE to LCB Bank stood at FCFA 500 million annually.  In my calculation, within 4 years, BMCE will be able to recuperate their investment into the local bank and still remain shareholders without disbursing any amount. What I have not been able to make or prove was whether, BMCE entry into the board LCB bank, was simply a shrewd way from Sassou Nguesso to take money away from Congo and secure it in Morocco? Furthermore, BMCE will still be earning dividends and also paid for the above mentioned contract for their expertise. My investigations also led me into discovering that, Sassou Nguesso had lot of investments in Morocco either through his son, Denis Christel, his son’s friend, Willy Etoka or perhaps under the cover of one of his friend: the Maylin couple. The mention of Maria Maylin is mere speculation, but the proximity of the President with the Maylin couple breeds all kinds of suspicions. Given that, Maria, the wife of Prof Claude Maylin, had acted as intermediary between Atijaree Wafa bank another Moroccan bank and President Sassou Nguesso; it gives grounds to suspect Mrs. Maria Maylin especially that, she is of Moroccan ancestry. The chair of the board of director of Atijaree Wafa bank has visited Brazzaville on several occasions. It is true that, the Moroccan bank bought over the Congolese subsidiary of Credit Agricole bank, which is a subsidiary of France’s Credit Agricole.  What I have not been able to establish is whether Maria Maylin, played in any role in the takeover bid.